Semantic Analysis: Political Attention Radar

Attention Radar is a web app that visualizes large data sets monitoring political agendas of the Netherlands and the European Union. The data was collected by Montesquieu Institute in The Hague and covers a total time range of 67 years. Its overall volume includes coalition agreements, law proposals, speeches by Queen Beatrix and conclusions by the European Council and exceeds the amount of 61,000 database entries.

The interactive visualization is optimized for iPad and uses the form of a stacked area chart to show the attention put to relevant social issues. It allows to explore how trends surface in the political debate and develop over time. The display of the graph can be customized through a miniature timeline and an interactive control panel. Features include switching between data models and sources, sorting, filtering and zooming.

For an enhanced usability Attention Radar also exploits iPad-specific interactions like rotating or gestures. Swiping for example allows to adjust the data sets, while rotating the tablet enables the comparative view mode with two data sets on top of each other.

All in all, a fully interactive hands-on learning experience for academic research.